Dear Diary
by hplover1999
Summary: This is Kelsey's diary during the first book of Tiger's Curse. Learn what was really going on in her head when she met Ren and found out she was the special one that was born to break the curse. One-Shot


Dear Diary,

The past couple of days have been really interesting. I graduated high school at the age of 17 and I decided to get a temporary job. I found a great job at the circus feeding and cleaning up after the animals. Since the animals had to be taken care of 24/7 I was to move in with the circus people for two weeks! My foster parents didn't seem to mind. The next day I met my boss Mr. Maurizio and one of the other employs Matt. Both of them were really friendly and Matt helped me learn the ropes of the circus business. When the circus show started and all of the kids were in their seats they brought out the white tiger Dhiren. He was amazing and I stared in awe as he did all of his magnificent tricks. Well that's all for now.

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

I love being in the circus. It's like having one big family even if I am only with them for two weeks. I finally got to see Dhiren the tiger up close. I'm going to call him Ren from now on. Mr. Davis, the animal trainer, let me watch him as he trained with the tiger. The next few days I went into the barn every night to talk to Ren. I read him part of my favorite book, Romeo and Juliet, and the poem _I am the Cat by Leila Usher_. When it was time for Ren to perform at his next circus show he stopped and looked around for me before he started his tricks. Ren seems as drawn to me as I am drawn to him. The next time I went to visit him I realized how lonely he looked and I told him I wish he was free. The next day my boss told me that a man named Mr. Kadam from India would like to purchase Ren and send him to a tiger reservation in India. He then offered me a job traveling with Ren and making sure he was comfortable in the reservation for a few days. I told him I had to ask my foster parents and that they would like to meet him at my eighteenth birthday party. Sarah, my foster mom, said yes and Mr. Kadam laid out the plan of how I would be traveling to India from Oregon. I am so excited. I have never been out of the country before!

Love from,

Kelsey

Poem - I Am the Cat

_In Egypt they worshiped me - I am the Cat. Because I bend not to the will of man They call be a mystery. When I catch and play with a mouse, They call me cruel, Yet they take animals to keep In parks and zoos, that they may gape at them. They think all animals are made for their pleasure, To be their slaves. And, while I kill only for my needs, They kill for pleasure, power and gold, And then pretend to a superiority! Why should I love them? I, the Cat, whose ancestors Proudly trod the jungle, Not one ever tamed by man. Ah, do they know That the same immortal hand That gave them breath, gave breath to me? But I alone am free - I am THE CAT._

~ Leila Usher

Dear Diary,

Mr. Kadam told me a story about an Indian prince named Dhiren today. He said that Ren the tiger was named after him. They story was about a prince, Dhiren, and his brother. Dhiren was to become king and was engaged to a princess in another land. Before the wedding Dhiren went off to war and his brother fell in love with Dhiren's wife to be,Yesubai, so Dhiren's brother hired an evil man to kidnap him so that he could become king and steal his bride. Unfortunately the evil man tortured Dhiren to death, Dhiren's brother ran away from what he had done, and Yesubai took her own life. Later Mr. Kadam and I drove Ren to the airport where we all got on his private jet. It was a long flight to India so we passed the time by sharing stories. Mr. Kadam told me legends about tigers and there great powers. I told Mr. Kadam about life in Oregon. After settling down for a nap we finally arrived in India. Mr. Kadam had to leave because he had other business to attend to so he left me with the driver of a truck that would take us to the tiger reservation. When we were four miles away the driver stopped for gas and told me to go get some food. I bought food from the gas station but when I went back outside Ren was outside of his cage and the truck was nowhere to be seen. I am freaking out!

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

After finding Ren outside out of his cage he ran into the jungle. Of course instead of going into the gas station and getting help I ran after him. I kept running until I was so tired I had to stop. As soon as I stopped running Ren stopped running too and he snuggled up next to me. I got water out of my backpack and then since I was completely lost I let Ren lead the way into the jungle. As it got dark we stopped and set up camp for the night. The next morning we were on our way again when Ren lead me to a little hut in the middle of nowhere. I told him to stay put while I went to knock on the door since a wild tiger would probably frighten the owner. I tied Ren to a tree with his leash and then kept on walking. From behind me I heard a male voice speak. When I turned around I saw a man dressed in white clothing. He was about my age and he was holding Ren's leash but Ren was gone. I looked into the man's eyes and I saw the same blue eyes as the tiger. The man explained that he was Ren the tiger and the story about the Indian prince that Mr. Kadam had told me was true except for the end. What really happened was that the evil man who kidnapped Ren and his brother Kishan cursed them so that they could only be human for 24 minutes a day and the rest of the time they were tiger's. I'm still not sure if I trust him or not but he said the owner of the house will explain the story in more detail so for now I will wait with him.

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

After talking to Ren he turned back into a tiger and I decided to take a nap. When I woke up the owner of the house was standing next to me. We started talking and I figured out that he knew all about my situation. He told me about a goddess named Durga and how he had Durga's bird that would sing for the special one. When I met the bird it started to sing. Phet told me that I was the only one that could break Ren's curse. He told me to go to Kanheri Cave and to find they key that looked like Mujulaain Empire Seal. Then he gave me some food and water and told me that Ren would lead the way. We headed back into the jungle hiking for hours until we found a Jeep on the side of the road. Ren gestured for me to enter the car and when I did I found a note from Mr. Kadam with directions on how to get to Ren's house. After driving for a few more hours I stopped in front of a beautiful mansion. When Ren and I entered the house I found Mr. Kadam on the couch ready to greet us. I told him what Phet had said and he told me more about Durga and her pet tiger. He said that she had eight arms each with one weapon in it. After a quick nap Ren turned back into a human so I could ask him more questions. He explained that he was over 300 years old but had not aged since he was cursed. He then said that Mr. Kadam was as old as him but he wore a piece of The Damon Amulet so he did not age either. As I stayed at Ren's house we became good friends even while he was in his human form. Well that is all for now.

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

When I woke up Mr. Kadam said that he found the Mujulaain Empire Seal in Ren's treasure vault and that we had to bring it with us to the cave. Ren and I left shortly after. On the drive there I talked to Ren and told him about my life. I told him about how my parent's had died in a car crash and what it was like living with a foster family. We then arrived at the cave which was in the middle of a forest. On the walls there were ancient hieroglyphics. There was also an engraving that looked like the engraving on the seal. When I put the two together a secret door opened. We went through the door to find a maze covered in booby traps like poisoned spikes. I almost died several times slipping in poison. The last booby trap was water. Waves of it came in the cave and tried to drown us. Right before we were about to drown I found another engraving of the seal. When I put the seal in the engraving the water rushed out and Durga's prophecy was written on the wall in Ancient Indian. After that I just really wanted to go home. When we got home I went right to bed. When I woke up Ren wasn't wearing his usual white clothing but jeans and a T-shirt instead. He explained to me that every time he turned from a tiger to a human he was suddenly wearing the same white clothing. I held his hand and I felt sparks travel up my arm. Later I went to go check on Mr. Kadam who was translating Durga's Prophecy. He told me the prophecy said we must find four gifts to break the curse and the first gift was forbidden fruit. It also said we needed to go to a place called Hampi. Later that night I read the ending of Romeo and Juliet to Ren. He said that Romeo was a fool for keeping the wedding a secret and that that was his downfall. Ren told me about some poetry that he liked to write and I told him I liked to write poetry too. Well goodnight.

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

The next morning it was time to pack for a new adventure. Mr. Kadam said that Ren had somewhere he wanted to show me. On the drive there Mr. Kadam told me about how he and Ren knew each other. He said that back in the day he was Ren's martial arts instructor. He told me some great stories about their time. He then told me that after this pit stop we would be traveling to one of Durga's temples in Hampi. When we got to the place Ren wanted us to be Mr. Kadam said he was dropping us off and he would come back for us in a few days. I followed Ren to the most beautiful waterfall I had ever seen. We made camp there and then Ren told me why we were here. He said he wanted to find his brother and try to convince him to join their quest to break the curse. Before we started looking for him we decided to go swimming in the waterfall. It was a lot of fun until a rock fell from the wall and hit me in the back of the head. When I opened my eyes Ren was shaking me awake. I tried to talk but I just coughed up water. Ren had saved my life! When I was done almost chocking to death we sat down by the fire and read English and Indian poetry. His poem was beautiful. When we were done talking he asked permission to kiss me! It was so old fashioned to ask permission and I guess I forgot he was like 300 years old so I freaked out on him. Somehow somewhere in the conversation I rejected him and then instantly regretted it. He left me alone for the rest of the day. While he was out looking for his brother a man came out of the forest. I knew it was Ren's brother because they looked so similar. He was really flirty and at one point he tucked my hair behind my ear and Ren jumped out from the forest and attacked him. The fight continued and they got serious injuries that should have taken weeks to heal but were healed in a few hours from their curse. I knew they weren't really fighting over me it was just pent up anger from Kishan stealing Ren's fiancée 300 years back. I finally got them to be civil so we could talk about the curse.

Love from,

Kelsey

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed; But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to Time thou grow'st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. – William Shakespeare

_Sakuntala by Kalidasa_

_The heart indeed, I know not:_

_But mine, oh! Cruel love_

_Warms by day and by night_

_And all my faculties are centered on thee._

_Thee, O slender maid,_

_Love only warms:_

_But me he burns:_

_As the day star only stifles the fragrance of the night flower_

_But quenches the very orb of the moon_

_This heart of mine_

_Oh thou who art of all things the dearest to it_

_Will have not object but thee._

Dear Diary,

Kishan seemed like a nice guy but he refused our offer to come with us. He did not think we would be successful and he was punishing himself by staying in the wilderness. He really regretted what had happened to Ren and himself. He did tell me that Ren would have to hunt soon if he wanted to survive. I told Ren this but he acted cold towards me since our misunderstanding. He left Kishan to watch over me while he was gone. While Ren was gone Kishan told me stories about Yesubai and how she had really died by accidently being injured in a war against her father. We also found out that the evil man who captured Ren was her father. It was not Kishan's idea to capture Ren but Yesubai's father said that was the only way he would let Kishan marry Yesubai. Four days later Ren had not come back and Kishan was getting worried so he said we should go find him. We travelled for a while until Kishan picked up Ren's scent and told me to hide in a cave. I stayed there for a while but then I got bored and when out to explore. I saw Ren and Kishan hunting with blood on their face. When I went back to the cave I had nightmares about their hunt. In the morning I woke up with Ren next to me telling me to pack up because it was time to go. As we walked to where Mr. Kadam was parked I told Ren about how I had seen the hunt. He was immediately mad at Kishan for leaving me alone in the cave. He then told me about his life in the circus and how he was sold over the years. He told me about the good circuses that were kind to him and the mean circuses that whipped and prodded him. When we were almost at the car Kishan appeared. He came to say good-bye. When I went to kiss him on the cheek he turned his head and I ended up pecking him on the lips. Ren clenched his fist and put on a dark expression but I laughed it off.

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

We finally made it to Mr. Kadam's car! He wanted to know all about my week with the two tigers. We drove far until we reached a city with a nice hotel and wildlife nearby so Ren could be close. WE dropped Ren off in the jungle and Mr. Kadam took me out to dinner. We talked about the Golden Fruit which was a mystical fruit that could feed millions. Then I went to bed in my nice hotel room. At midnight there was a knock on the door. It was Ren. He said he missed me and he didn't want to be out in the jungle. I told him he could stay. Looking at him I felt something in my heart that could be love. Finally I just leaned over and kissed him. He froze for a second and then kissed me back! Then he went to sleep in tiger form at the foot of my bed. In the morning we drove to Durga's temple. We climbed the steps up to the temple. We knew that if we wanted Durga to help us we would have to give her on offering so I took some fruit from the car and put it in a bowl by the feet of the Durga statue. I asked for her blessing and the strength to succeed. Nothing happened and we were beginning to lose hope but the Ren turned back into a tiger and Durga spoke. She called me her daughter and gave me a weapon. This weapon was called a gada. Then she told us the thing we seek is in Hanuman's Kingdom. She then gave me a bracelet that turned into a snake and would protect me. I said good-bye to her and then we drove off.

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

Mr. Kadam had a bunch of questions about what happened in the temple. I tried to answer them as best I could. We drove back to the hotel and dropped Ren off in the jungle. Before he left I told him he could come back to my room tonight if he wanted to. Late that night Ren scratched at my door. He curled up next to me in tiger form. The next morning we were off to find the secret entrance of Kishkindha that would help us in our quest. We went to a museum that had a statue of Ugra Narasimha. This is where Mr. Kadam believed the entrance was. My snake unwounded from my arm and seemed to talk to the snake statue. Then the door to Kishkindha opened. We walked down the steps. I read in the prophecy that once we got here there would be many trials. As we walked I felt thorns did into my skin. The plants behind us were growing and trying to trap us. I started to run as fast as I could to get away from them. Finally we were free. Ren and I kept walking but all of a sudden there were copies of us running around. I tried to find the real Ren but I didn't know which one was him. I remembered in the prophesy that it said look not with your eyes. I thought about what that could mean. It meat to look with your heart. I hoped that this would be the last trial but I was wrong. Once I found Ren again we walked by a lake. I noticed that there was a kappa in the lake. It tried to reach out of the water and it grabbed my foot luckily Ren saved me. Then we arrived at the Kishkindha kingdom.

Love From,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

I walked through the kingdom and saw a medial castle. Ren and I decided to set up camp at the border and then explore the rest of the kingdom tomorrow. As I sat there next to Ren I thought about falling in love with him. He probably isn't in love with me. I am just the first girl he has talked to in over 300 years. Falling in love with him would be dangerous and would only end in heartbreak. After this task is over I should just go back to Oregon without him. The next morning we started walking towards the castle again. We then entered the castle and were hit with the first task. A row of stone monkeys were all around us. The engraving in the stone told Ren to choose a monkey. He picked the one that looked like the god Hanuman who was half monkey half human. Then I magical tree burst out from the ground and on top of the tree lay the golden fruit. It looked like I would have to climb the tree. I climbed up and up and grabbed the fruit. As I started to come back down I slipped and fell. Suddenly I was in Ren's arms. He had caught me.

Love from,

Kelsey

Dear Diary,

Now that we have one of Durga's gifts Ren and Kishan can be human for six hours each day. Mr. Kadam doesn't think we should start another task for a while so I am going back to Oregon. Ren bought me a big house and fancy car even though a told him not to he wants me to be comfortable. I hate to leave him but he deserves better than me. I am not good enough for him. I will return to India for the next task but we will work together on a strictly professional level. I miss him so much already.

Love from,

Kelsey


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